Last week, after the poor debut of FOX’s Lone Star, TV show creator Kyle Killen asked people to give the series a chance and hoped for a “stunning upset” in the ratings.
Sadly, that didn’t happen and the ratings for episode two dropped even lower. It was no surprise when FOX pulled Lone Star from the schedule and cancelled production.
Killen has had some time to reflect on the events of the past couple weeks and has written another post about Lone Star. He expresses gratitude for the chance to make the show and to the many viewers for their support. He also talks about the possibility of Lone Star moving to another channel but understands the chances are remote at best.
Here are some excerpts. You can read the whole post here.
So here’s the thing. We made a good show. Not Shakespeare. Not MASH. But something I was proud of. I can’t really speak to anyone else’s reaction, I can only be honest about my own. We assembled a staff, a cast, and a crew that I think was committed to telling interesting and thought provoking stories and who were excited about where we’d planned to head. And now it’s over. The part of me that feels awful that these people are now out of work wishes they’d done anything other than join this show. The part of me that’s so excited about what we did can’t thank them enough for signing on and making it happen.
As for the show’s future, if you read the news you know what I know. We’re actively looking at other homes for it, but those situations are rare. Imagine trying to just jam the engine from a Toyota in a Chevy and you get some idea how hard it is to take a show from one network to another. These things are custom jobs and what looks simple on the surface requires an incredible amount of engineering underneath. Whether we’ll pull something like that off is anyone’s guess. But we’re certainly trying.
Lastly, I literally don’t have the words to thank those of you who participated here and on twitter and facebook and, you know, the real world, in supporting the show. I’ve been in the habit of writing incredibly inane things in this space for some time and have to say that I was blindsided by the scale of the reaction to my last post. Of all the incredible and unexpected things to come out of this entire process, those last few days were perhaps the most incredible and certainly the least expected. I feel like we tried to get a write in candidate elected president together, and while we were completely and utterly destroyed when the votes were tallied, I’ve never felt such an odd and full connection to a group of people I’ve never met and likely never will. Given all that, ‘Thank you’ seems woefully insufficient to convey my gratitude. Perhaps I can just mow all your lawns for the hell of it.
What do you think? Do you agree with Killen? If you had your way, which channel would pick it up?
Image courtesy FOX.
I’ve only seen the first two shows but liked the intrigue and the story line. I think the network should have given it more of a chance for the show to catch on. After all this new show was competing with a lot of other returning hits and several new shows that are spinoffs of other shows like Law & Order Los Angeles.
If stupid shows like Hawthorne can be on the air, then ‘Lone Star’ should be shoe-in! The show wasn’t marketed correctly. Even I didn’t want to see it, because the premise sounded so distasteful. But after giving it a chance, I’m hooked.
I loved the show….I was looking forward to it this week. Find a way to keep it own. It’s good to have something besides silly comedy or detectives. Give us some variety pleasae.
I absolutely loved this show. I am shocked that Fox could not see that by watching the show. It should have been moved, for at least, given more time. Alot of people watch all of the new shows then weed out the ones that they don’t enjoy. I know once everyone saw this show they would have been hooked. DUMB MOVE, FOX! I hope someone picks it up because it is a great show, very entertaining.
i LOVE this show. i was very unsure in the first episode but watched the second and just fell in love with it. i am not one who gets hooked on many shows and i am so sad to see this show go. i think it had amazing potential and really kept me guessing. i hope that another channel will pick up this show and really give it a chance i think it has the ability to get many people hooked
I love this show. I can’t believe it is cancelled and junk like that Shatner show “—- My Dad Says” is still on. I must be in the minority indeed – I watch LoneStar and DVR The Event.
Fox’s incredibly poor programming placement is what does in every one of their shows. Not the quality of the entertainment. Not the incredible work of the prodution staff . Not the lack of superb acting, AND THIS HAD SUPERB ACTING. It is this, you don’t expect something to be productive against the next psychological thriller drama like “LOST”. NBC was positioned with its ‘The Event’ before ‘Lone*Star’ was set in place. In its day, who would have wanted to compete with the ‘Friends-Seinfeld-E.R.’ Goliath. Fox needs to get their act together and understand PROGRAMMING! I remember when te original Hawaii… Read more »
It’s so frustrating to start a show, only to have it canceled before views even have a chance to decide what they think. Give these new shows a chance to make their own statement, but don’t cancel them before they’ve been on for at least several episodes. Remember, many people aren’t watching live tv anymore. We all have busy lives, so we either rely on our DVR’s to record our shows so we can watch them when we have time, or we watch them online. That shouldn’t be a curse for these new shows. Give them a chance!!!! Lonestar looks… Read more »
The truth is this show needed a few things. It needed to be on FX with more sexual situations, language, even violence. FX is a network that does very well with ambiguous characters, anti-heroes like the Shield, Sons of Anarchy and Nip/Tuck. Though critically acclaimed, a show where the main character is a con man duping two women was going to be a very hard sell.
I think the most unfortunate thing is that this intriguing show was launched on Fox, which has a long history of canceling any show that is not an instant ratings winner (think Firefly or Wonderfalls, for instance.) Adolescent comedies that pander to the lowest common denominator do better on Fox, but it is so sad to see yet another show bite the dust before people even had a chance to see what was going on. I think Joss Whedon finally learned his lesson about Fox, and I hope that Kyle Killen has as well… It would be wonderful if Lone… Read more »
I’m so sad that this show is cancelled. It was interesting and had a lot of potential… sigh
I just hope that another network will take over this show, so that we get to know what happens.
I liked what I saw and am sorry it has been cancelled by Fox. I hope someone picks it up. There is so much junk on tv and this show was well written. I’ll miss it.
just face it, the show didnt attract viewers, not everythings a winner, it had its chance on the air and failed, just time to move on with another project
GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE!!! I think this show got off to a very interesting start. If cheesey shows with grade school humor such as ” Cougar Town” can “make it”, then well written, well acted shows such as “Lonestar” should be given more than 2 episodes to prove itself. NOTE: There are people over the age of 20 that watch nightly TV series!
this is SUCH a bummer! these days everything gets cancelled SO fast. how is a show supposed to build an audience! i didnt even watch the first episode till i was on virgin america the other day, they put pilots on for free on there – and i LOVED it and ran home and DVR’d the second i landed. and already its cancelled. its ridiculous.
also this actor definitely could be the next george clooney he’s so charming/dreamy….whoever said send it to FX was right. Justified is on there and that show is amazing ….